Calling Lake Provincial Park. Is the Gate locked

[Jigsalot]

Hi. Just wondering if the rumours are true or not. I heard the government is closing all the parks. Any truth to this

[SNAPFisher]

Hi. Just wondering if the rumours are true or not. I heard the government is closing all the parks. Any truth to this

Now I feel even better about staying local. Had planned to hit Calling today but changed that due to the forecast. Also, snow today and an East wind..then snow for the next 5-6 days up there.

In like a lion out like a colossal lion...sigh

[BushNinja]

Hi. Just wondering if the rumours are true or not. I heard the government is closing all the parks. Any truth to thisI believe they've just closed the facilities not the trails or lakes. Best to call Parks first to confirm. They'll likely tell you to stay home.

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk

[double gun]

I just tried to go. They are stopping you on the highway and not letting you access the lake on either side. No Fishing.

Wish I had read this thread before driving up....

[Jigsalot]

I just tried to go. They are stopping you on the highway and not letting you access the lake on either side. No Fishing.

Wish I had read this thread before driving up....

Are you kidding me. Seems that’s the only lake shutdown.

[buckman]

Provincial parks vehicle access closed as from today.

[Jigsalot]

Anyone else getting stopped on the hyway near Calling Lake. Be nice to get more feedback on this one. Is the lake closed to fishing?

[Drewski Canuck]

The MD of Opportunity and the Bigstone Cree Nation has declared a local state of emergency because of the virus.

According to the MD website, the local roads are closed for non residents. If a resident leaves, and comes back, they are subject to a 14 day quarantine / self isolation. Fine for violation of the self isolation, so the MD is organising food hampers so people do not have to leave.

I attempted to call Athabasca RCMP detachment a number of times and they are not answering their lines. The K Division dispatch is saying they are aware of the road block, but that is all. They then say call Athabasca Detachment that does not answer.

Yes, under Public Health Legislation, you can quarantine a community. No, you cannot close a lake for fishing. As for access, there are a number of other access points, but I did not check if any of these are being blocked.

This is a Public Highway, as is the roads in the local community. You are not to be going in and meeting with people in the community, who are in the quarantine area. Obviously the fishermen on the lake are not doing this.

What is unknown is what jurisdiction the MD has to close road access to the general public for the hamlet of Calling Lake. There are access points north of the reserve that are not in the hamlet, and there are access points south of the reserve that are in the cabin section that are not in the hamlet.

No one was monitoring traffic in Calling Lake from Thursday to Sunday that I saw.

There is supposed to be a curfew from 8 PM to 6 AM. Friday night and Saturday night there were MANY people driving around after the curfew. There was no MD Bylaw Enforcement of the curfew from all the vehicles driving up to the reserve after 8 PM. I believe that there was one RCMP going up to the reserve late at night on Saturday, but I could not clearly see the markings.

There are no RCMP at the check points.

From speaking with some neighbours, the RCMP did not know what they were to do, and where not doing anything about the road block.

As for what the individuals who are locals hired by a contractor can do to stop you, is unknown. If you are local they are asking for names and phone numbers and taking down licence plates.

From one of the guys working the check point, people did drive through and the RCMP did not seem to be doing anything when they were called. The people on the check point are not Law Enforcement Officers of any kind. I know some of them, and they would never pass the security check.

People working in the bush, or going to cut wood in the bush, or going to some other lake, or going hunting, are driving through.

So it seems to be a local bylaw, which is probably beyond its jurisdiction, as its actions cannot stop people from using the public highway for the stated purpose of a Quarantine of the community.

There actually is legislation in Alberta about interfering with people lawfully hunting and fishing.

Perhaps call fish and wildlife on Monday and complain about the breach of your right to fish. Access to the lake outside the Provincial Park is not governed by the Parks closure.

I tried calling the Report a Poacher line on Thursday only to have it continually disconnect.

Good times.

Drewski

[SNAPFisher]

Thanks for the info Drewski. At least that which you could actually confirm.

No Calling trips this ice season for me. Didn't do much exploring at all actually and the results were a bit dismal in compared to previous years. Think I'll get back on the travel around band wagon next year.

Hope you had a good season.

[Jigsalot]

The MD of Opportunity and the Bigstone Cree Nation has declared a local state of emergency because of the virus.

According to the MD website, the local roads are closed for non residents. If a resident leaves, and comes back, they are subject to a 14 day quarantine / self isolation. Fine for violation of the self isolation, so the MD is organising food hampers so people do not have to leave.

I attempted to call Athabasca RCMP detachment a number of times and they are not answering their lines. The K Division dispatch is saying they are aware of the road block, but that is all. They then say call Athabasca Detachment that does not answer.

Yes, under Public Health Legislation, you can quarantine a community. No, you cannot close a lake for fishing. As for access, there are a number of other access points, but I did not check if any of these are being blocked.

This is a Public Highway, as is the roads in the local community. You are not to be going in and meeting with people in the community, who are in the quarantine area. Obviously the fishermen on the lake are not doing this.

What is unknown is what jurisdiction the MD has to close road access to the general public for the hamlet of Calling Lake. There are access points north of the reserve that are not in the hamlet, and there are access points south of the reserve that are in the cabin section that are not in the hamlet.

No one was monitoring traffic in Calling Lake from Thursday to Sunday that I saw.

There is supposed to be a curfew from 8 PM to 6 AM. Friday night and Saturday night there were MANY people driving around after the curfew. There was no MD Bylaw Enforcement of the curfew from all the vehicles driving up to the reserve after 8 PM. I believe that there was one RCMP going up to the reserve late at night on Saturday, but I could not clearly see the markings.

There are no RCMP at the check points.

From speaking with some neighbours, the RCMP did not know what they were to do, and where not doing anything about the road block.

As for what the individuals who are locals hired by a contractor can do to stop you, is unknown. If you are local they are asking for names and phone numbers and taking down licence plates.

From one of the guys working the check point, people did drive through and the RCMP did not seem to be doing anything when they were called. The people on the check point are not Law Enforcement Officers of any kind. I know some of them, and they would never pass the security check.

People working in the bush, or going to cut wood in the bush, or going to some other lake, or going hunting, are driving through.

So it seems to be a local bylaw, which is probably beyond its jurisdiction, as its actions cannot stop people from using the public highway for the stated purpose of a Quarantine of the community.

There actually is legislation in Alberta about interfering with people lawfully hunting and fishing.

Perhaps call fish and wildlife on Monday and complain about the breach of your right to fish. Access to the lake outside the Provincial Park is not governed by the Parks closure.

I tried calling the Report a Poacher line on Thursday only to have it continually disconnect.

Good times.

Drewski

Thanks Drew for the update. Was going up there but I did see a post on the other string. Read the part about the RCMP. Lol. That doesn’t surprise me one bit.

[Dubious]

Hogwash. They close lakes for ice fishing but construction sites are ok to stay open because of the square footage between workers. The world has gone crazy.

[Drewski Canuck]

They did not close Calling Lake for ice fishing for the virus or quarantine. The Province closed the Provincial parks so the staff could not get exposed to the virus.

The issue is that the people who are manning the road check point are given the wrong information that the lake is closed for fishing.

The big problem is that the Province should be doing something to correct the Staff who should not be doing the check point on the highway anyways, as the highway is not part of the town site.

It is the town site that is under quarantine, not the lake.

Drewski

[Barry D]

I have a cabin up at calling lake and they let us through because we had property there. They said they were turning people around if they were not local, but I didn't ask any questions about their authority to do it. We self isolated at my cabin anyway, so we were compliant with their request. I did a big sled ride and came across a nice Ploris side-by-side (I guessed it was stolen and stashed there) This is the third stolen ATV we have come across in the bush up there. Anyway on our way back I saw a RCMP and caught up to him when he was going through the check point. I didn't here any of the conversations he had with the "road blockers" but didn't seem to interested in sticking around. I think it is an example of the Indigenous self government that we should be expecting to see a bit more of. With the recent rail blockades, I think the RCMP are not willing to enforce the letter of the law right now. When we left the lake we were stopped again, but they just asked my first name and where I was going. A guy came up behind me and just drove through, but they didn't do anything about it. Interesting times.

I gave the RCMP the info on the side-by side and he said it happens all the time, but with it being about 5 km from the closest road, he asks me to send him the pictures we took and the pin drop location.

For any of you that didn't make it through, the fishing was not very good anyway on Calling lake this last weekend.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Sister in law went to Kananaskis on the weekend - parking lots were closed, and when they stopped on the side of the road to have a view, a marked vehicle stopped by them and instructed them to move along.

There's a fair amount of effort out there to keep people from congregating.

[Drewski Canuck]

Yes this business of road checks started Wednesday in Wabasca. RCMP where there at the information check point watching people getting stopped by people wearing neon yellow "Security" jackets.

Idea seemed to be that the Band was exercising a quarantine for their Traditional Territory. Then on Wednesday the MD jumped in saying that they have jurisdiction to declare a Local State of Emergency, and passed a Bylaw.

Seemed like an attempt to preserve the MD's jurisdiction over the Band. But neither can close the Crown land or the Highway.

Trouble is the Province is completely silent on this action. In BC, the Province put an end to these attempts to exercise Jurisdiction locally, because it was unmanageable, and the Province was exercising Jurisdiction.

If the Band wants to do this for the Reserves, that is fine. But the duty to consult is not a duty to concede to the FN's demands. The ceded Traditional Territory for many Treaties provides for Freedom of Movement, as does the Charter of Rights. This was a land claim settled in 2009, so there is no argument of Treaty Interpretation for a situation that could not be contemplated 140 years ago.

IT IS Time for Jason Kenney to grow a pair and put an end to this action before it is relied on for bigger actions by the FN and Metis groups who have whipsawed the MD to do their bidding.



The MD is a creature of the Province, and they can be brought into line, just like any County or City.

Drewski